[ILUG] [Fwd: Software patents]

[edward at humphrey.ie]

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: Software patents
From:    "DE ROSSA Proinsias" <pderossa at europarl.eu.int>
Date:    Tue, March 8, 2005 10:50 am
To:      edward at humphrey.ie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eddie,

Thanks for your message. Following yesterday's decision by the
Competitiveness Council to adopt its common position (first reading) on
the proposal, the European Parliament has now requested that the
Commission make a statement to the EP Plenary tomorrow in Strasbourg at
6.00pm. On 4 February, the EP's Legal Affairs Committee voted
overwhelmingly for a complete restart to the negotiations. MEPs are now
awaiting with considerable interest what the Commission has to say but
it's important to remember that the EP has the right to retable any of its
first reading amendments, from September 2003, not taken up in the
Council's common position, which the EP has yet to see, or to reject the
common position entirely. If Council still refuses to accept EP
amendments, a 'conciliation committee' of MEPs and national civil
servants will meet  to reach a compromise. If none is found, the
proposal falls. The important point is that the Ministers do not take the
final decision on this issue - they must work with the EP. From our
estimation, there is still an anti-software patents majority within the EP
following last year's elections.

Proinsias took part in the debates on this issue in September 2003 - check
www.derossa.com

The EP's first reading position can be downloaded from
http://www2.europarl.eu.int/omk/sipade2?L=3DEN&OBJID=3D79550&MODE=3DSIP&NAV=
=3DX&
LSTDOC=3DN&LEVEL=3D2


We'll keep you posted.

Yours sincerely,

Gerard Gibbons